Chesterfield star O’Shea hopes Barnsley have ‘Wembley hangover’

Graham Smyth

Jay O’Shea hopes Barnsley are suffering from a ‘Wembley hangover’ when they host Chesterfield on Saturday.

The Spireites’ attacking midfielder was in London on Sunday to see the Tykes win the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

And although the Irishman admits he was impressed with their performance, he’s hoping there will be an ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ feel to proceedings at Oakwell this weekend.

Appraising the meteoric rise of a side who sat bottom of League One in December, and now reside in seventh, O’Shea said: “They had a bad start, but they got things together and they’ve been in great form.

“I went down to Wembley to watch a mate of mine and thought they were very good in the second half.

“They’ll be full of confidence after winning the JPT, but hopefully we can catch them with a bit of a Wembley hangover.”

Saturday is the first of three consecutive derby clashes for the Spireites, games against near neighbours that every player must surely relish.

O’Shea has scored in each of Chesterfield’s last two games against Barnsley, and he has fond memories of his previous trip to Oakwell.

“I remember when we played there last year and we were on the run towards the play-offs and you looked at one end of the ground and we had a lot of fans there - I’m hoping we take the same again.

“You look forward to these derby games, and hopefully we can get a few good results and look back and say they defined our season.”

Barnsley might be a side full of confidencefollowing their Wembley exploits, but O’Shea insists Chesterfield are not low on self esteem.

“We know what ability is in the dressing room,” he said.

“We’re in good spirits, we know we have enough to keep us in the league.”

O’Shea’s trip to Wembley came just 24 hours after he came off the bench at the Proact to inspire a remarkable Chesterfield comeback against Port Vale.

He and Gboly Ariyibi were introduced at the break, after the Spireites trudged off 1-0 down, to a chorus of boos.

Their impact was both immediate and vital – each substitute picking up a goal and an assist in the 4-2 victory.

O’Shea admitted he would rather have been on the pitch from the start, but knew he could contribute should Danny Wilson call on his services.

“I would have liked to start again, but whatever chance I get I try to make an impact.

“Saturday wasn’t going too well in the first half and the gaffer made a couple of changes, and it just so happened the players coming on did a bit to change the game.

“I’ve been playing a long time, I’m getting that bit older and I still have confidence in myself to come on and do something, even if I’m not starting.”

The boos that filled the air at the half-time whistle may have been unpleasant for the players, but O’Shea understands why supporters were upset and like his manager, believes those in the stands helped motivate those on the pitch.

“It must have been frustrating for the fans who have been to the home games, because we’ve had most of our wins away from home,” he said.

“In the first half on Saturday it was no where near good enough, so although it’s not nice hearing boos, it gave us a little boost.

“Sometimes some players need to hear that and it was needed on Saturday.

“We went on to turn things around, and hopefully we can go out on Saturday and play like we did in the second half and get another three points.”